1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to medications for relief of pain and inflammation associated with the production of pain. More particularly it relates to such pain and inflammation relief medication compositions which are administered topically.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pain relief is a major focus of current medical attention. It is well established that patients respond much better to treatment for a wide variety of serious physical and neurological injuries and disorders if the pain associated with those conditions can be relieved. Similarly, even for relatively lesser injuries or disorders, where a physician's attention may be required only initially or at infrequent intervals while the patient recovers, the patient who can self-administer medication to relieve pain associated with the condition will recover faster, and during the recovery period will be able to resume normal activities earlier than if he or she was also simultaneously trying to cope with persistent pain.
Pain relief may be accomplished in two different ways. In one, the pain itself continues but is masked from the patient. This is essentially the function of the various types of anesthetics. The anesthetics do not attack the root cause of the pain, but rather block pain transmission so that the patient does not sense pain. Because they merely block pain sensation, anesthetics must be continually administered as long as the underlying condition causing the pain persists, or at least until the condition has improved to the point where the pain generated by the condition has decreased to a level that the patient can tolerate and resume daily functional activities and participate in kinematic functional activities.
More effective are treatment methods intended to attack the condition which is causing the pain. In most cases, once the physiological and neurotransmitter etiology of the pain begins to be alleviated, the sensation of pain is reduced.
There are, of course, a wide variety of ways to administer physiologically active agents. Probably the least objectionable to most patients is administration transdermally. A composition is applied to the outer surface of the skin and the active ingredients in the topical cream migrate from the cream through the skin and proceed to the site of the wound or affected organ. Many literature and patent references exist showing different types of topical creams, and great attention has been paid to various types of compounds or compositions to enhance the rate and completeness of such transdermal transfer of the active materials. While some of these references have described analgesics in general terms as among the physiologically active materials which can be administered transdermally, focus has been on the mechanism and rate of transdermal administration based on the using the specific compounds or classes of compounds identified in the references as the transdermal transmission rate "enhancers." Little or no attention has be directed toward effecting significant or comprehensive pain relief and migration of inflammation through transdermal administration of topically applied compositions.